An investigation of the red photoluminescence (PL) in uniform layers of porous silicon has revealed an inverse relationship between the PL peak energy and the nanoparticle diameter that is in accord with a quantum confinement mechanism. The PL energy lies below that of the optical absorption gap in such samples and the theoretical predictions for quantum dots. It appears that the light emission in porous Si is multiphoton assisted for even quite small nanoparticle sizes.

Publication date

1995-06

Language

English

Affiliation

National Research Council Canada; NRC Institute for Microstructural Sciences